The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims Paperback – December 10, 2016

This slim volume offers sage advice to anyone enduring the ordeal of life and the vast majority of fools, liars, and backstabbers we must suffer while doing so. Let it be admitted, it's not a book for everyone.Schopenhauer's general view is summed up thus: Life is hell. Try to find a room furthest from the flames.If you tend towards a sunnier view of things then you're very likely to find this book by the grandmaster of philosophical pessimism unduly cynical. But if you've pretty much had it with the world and seldom meet a man (or woman) you wouldn't rather see the back of, you'll be delighted to find a fellow traveler and find wit and solace in Schopenhauer's acidic view of this "wonderful gift of life"--a gift we'd just as soon not have been stuck with in the first place.There's a lot of the Stoic in Schopenhauer and his approach to the "good life" bears more than a passing resemblance to what one finds in Ecclesiastes, which Schopenhauer cites often. But while Schopenhauer doesn't see a whole lot to celebrate in this vale of tears, he doesn't advise gnashing your teeth and acknowledges that some comfort might be taken in each moment that one isn't actively and acutely suffering.Small, fleeting pleasures notwithstanding, Schopenhauer casts an unflinchingly jaundiced eye on the whole horrible "mistake" mistake of human life and doesn't sweeten the pill any. This isn't a philosophy for pansies. There aren't any metaphysical escapes, any humanistic idealisms, no fantastic leaps of faith--this is a creed for philosophical gladiators.For its bracing honesty alone, this book deserves its reputation as one of the greatest philosophical manuals of how to best live our lives ever written.

I really enjoyed reading this book and took a great deal from it. However, it is not an easy read, at least for me. I quickly realized I had to read on slow regular intervals in order to take in all of the material. That said, the book is pretty dense.

A HIDDEN GEM!!

Schopenhauer is the greatest philosopher ever lived. Pessimism is one of his main themes. He said that the world is a big mistake, somthing that ought not to be. But since we are here to suffer due to our own sins, we must try to make the best out of it. The world is a jungle in which everybody tries to devour the other, even the perpetrator and the victor say they must do it otherwise he will be victimized. Schopenhauer in this book gives advice to avoid the evil of other human beings, since they are the main sourse of suffering in the world.Schopenhauer give us a simple recipes to avoid the thorns and stings of others as best we can, even though we can't avoid fate and our karma completely.The problem of the world is lack of morality or the unethical conduct of humans toword others.I highly recommend this book also the book of The Will's Harmonic Motion: The Completion of Schopenhauer's Philosophyotion" for the completion of Schopenhauer Philosophy, second edition.

This is Schopenhauer at his most accessible.You could almost view this as a self help book of a rather high quality. Schopenhauer is quite practical and down to earth.Your not going to be happy if you don't have good health and you won't have good health if you pursue bad habits.You need leisure to pursue what interests you and you need a certain amount of money to have that leisure.However , you need only so much.Unceasing pursuit of money is a recipe for misery.The happiness you receive from yourself is greater than anything you can get from those around you.Don't pay undue regard to the opinions of others.The world you live in is shaped by the way you look at it.The most lasting pleasures are those of the mind.Make the most of what you have.Don't expect to be appreciated. Understand that most men mistake the bad for the good and praise the trivial because the good is strange to them.With that in mind you will be about as happy as possible but don't expect too much.

I received the exact book in the picture and it's in very good condition like described. Thank you!

His observations on ageism true today as well

I found this book to be hard when first reading it. I thought how dreary a person he was in life, to live a life of lonliness, never marrying etc. He did have one child that died, but he never married b/c he "liked young girls !" His thoughts about women were not of the highest values :-) He said that we are no longer interesting after giving birth to a child, and that women are only for teaching & nursing children ! Well, in todays' society, I have found this opinion to be true of some men as well ! Not all men, just some that can not relate properly to a woman after having a child. Elvis Presley was of this sort ! I guess woman lose some of their charms to men after a certain age. It seems to be true throughout all of history. It's an enlightening read for you, enjoy it.